General Fang Fenghui (R), member of China’s Central Military Commission (CMC) and chief of Joint Staff Department of the CMC, shakes hands with Nepal’s Chief of Army Staff General Rajendra Chhetri at a welcoming ceremony held in Beijing on March 28, 2016. (Photo courtesy: english.chinamil.com.cn/)

(TibetanReview.net, Apr12, 2016) – As if it is not hard enough already, life for the Tibetans living in Nepal appears set for further restrictions following reports that China’s Chief of Army Staff, Mr Fang Fenghui, had proposed to increase cooperation in clamping down on any type of Free Tibet activities in the country during a meeting with his visiting Nepalese counterpart Mr Rajendra Chettri. Besides, one of the main focuses of cooperation in this area is restricting the illegal flow of Tibetan refugees across the border which has been one of China’s top priorities, reported myrepublica.com Apr 10.

The report cited Dambar Basnet, a politician in the northern border area of the Sankhuwashaba District, as saying, “Though the other side of the border is heavily guarded, on our side the security is very feeble. Police forces that are scarcely armed are not sufficient to guard the border against any potential threats or to control smuggling of people, animals or goods across the border.”

The report also claimed that a Nepali security officer had said, requesting anonymity, “There has been acute shortage of security personnel, arms and infrastructures here to guard the borders. No advances have been made towards addressing these shortcomings and such condition has been hampering security arrangements here.”

And the report quoted Mr Yadav Prasad Koirala, Spokesperson of Nepal’s Home Ministry, as saying, “We have a policy of tight security at sensitive border areas. However, due to the lack of resources we are not being able to implement it as we should be.”

He has added that establishing a base-camp in the region would not be possible unless more Armed Police Force personals are deployed in the district.

Regarding ‘Free Tibet activities’, Nepal has in the past, acting under pressure from China, clamped down even on celebrations such as those marking the Dalai Lama’s birthday or the Tibetan democracy Day, or the anniversary of the conferment of the Nobel Peace Prize on the Dalai Lama.